Category: Readings

Benjamin Percy’s reading from his new book THRILL ME at the Loft Literary Center on October 26 at 7:00 p.m. You won’t want to miss it! THRILL ME is all about how to craft narratives with the pace of a thriller and the depth of a literary novel.

He knows what he’s talking about. If you’ve read his Deliverance-esque The Wilding or his werewolf epic Red Moon or his post-apocalyptic take on the Lewis and Clark trek in The Dead Lands you know what I mean. Ben’s also the guy behind the recent run of Green Arrow comics and has just been announced as the power behind a new James Bond comics series.

It’s back! Because once is never enough, the AWP Rock & Roll reading is happening again. Wednesday, April 8, 9 pm. Since AWP is in Minneapolis this year, Complexes will be playing a set after ten readers take the stage for some music-inspired writing.

I’m reading from the novel at Common Good Books on Thursday, November 6th at 7:00 pm. I’ll be sharing the room with the esteemed Robert Martin and Caitlin Bailey, who are likewise reading from their own manuscripts in progress. Come see what happens when you give the room (and the mic!) to a bunch of writers whose work isn’t yet bound between two covers.

It’s sure to be a high-wire night full of daring and bravado—or white-knuckled terror, depending on how easy/difficult it is to read from new work to a room full (one hopes) of friends. Ah, who am I kidding? It’s going to be a blast. Come for the wild ride because this lineup has never happened before and may never happen again.

Thanks to the brilliant Jon Troutman for making this awesome event poster.

Thanks to David Enyeart at Common Good Books for hosting us.

And thanks to the Minnesota State Arts Board for making all this possible.

Steve Woodward is a fiscal year 2014 recipient of an Artist Initiative grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board. This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation by the Minnesota State Legislature; and by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.

My AWP itinerary includes a healthy dose of time at the Graywolf booth at the bookfair, and I’ll be heading up a panel on writers who are also critics, which will be incredible. But that’s the day job: by night, by which I mean Thursday night at 8 p.m., I’ll be reading with a full lineup of writers who are also rockers. Now that’s what I call fun. If you’ll be at AWP, be sure to check it out. Full details over at the event page on Facebook.

The official event description goes like so:

Twenty writers will read rock-and-roll-inspired fiction and nonfiction in rapid-fire rock-and-roll-style bursts: three to four minutes each, the length of a pop song.

Post-reading, some of the writers — led by our house band, Tigerlance — will play music of their own.

There’s no cover, the writers promise punkiness and perspicacity, Tigerlance will make your toes shimmy, and The Central Saloon — Seattle’s oldest bar — has its own rich place in rock and roll history.

Come for the readers, stay for the music. Feel free to mosh.

When: February, 27, 2014

Where: The Central Saloon, 207 1st Ave S, Seattle, WA 98127 (The Central is a mile from the Washington State Convention Center.)